Ava DuVernay Wants To Remake This Childhood Fave

Twitter Is Freaking Out Over A Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Remake From Ava DuVernay

On September 13 Roald Dahl beloved author of such childhood classics as James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, and of course Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would’ve turned 101 years old. To mark the occasion BBC Radio invited Dahl’s widow Liccy Dahl on air for a chat. That was when she dropped a major reveal: the iconic mini hero, Charlie, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was originally written as a Black character.

“His first Charlie that he wrote about was a little black boy,” said Dahl's wife. Donald Sturrock, Dahl’s biographer, seated at Liccy’s side, added, “It was his agent who thought it was a bad idea, when the book was first published, to have a black hero. Sturrock then noted that Dahl's publisher said that “People would ask why.”

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Soon the clip hit the internet and before anyone knew it Wrinkle In Time director Ava DuVernay had volunteered herself for the remake. "*raises hand for movie adaptation*" she tweeted enthusiastically.

DuVernay’s response caught the attention of a number of supporters, including Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt favorite, Tituss Burgess. One Twitter user-turned-casting agent tweeted, “Can it be @titussburgess for Willy Wonka, please?!”

Burgess replied in all-caps, “Ummmmm oh the fun I would have!” We certainly believe we'd have a lot of fun watching him, too.

Other fans also chimed in with their casting choices for this dream remake. "I'd love to see @TheOrlandoJones as Willy Wonka," one person tweeted, while someone else suggested Hamilton's Daveed Diggs for Wonka. Another person suggested casting Hugh Jackman as Wonka and Black-ish's Miles Brown as Charlie: "All I'm saying is these two would be a helluva combo."